Spartan/Isuzu Reach Van Begins Move to Mich.

Production of the new environmentally-friendly Reach delivery van has started to migrate from the Utilimaster Corp. plant in Wakarusa, Ind., to the Spartan Motors Inc. campus in Charlotte, Mich., according to a report by the Elkhart Truth.

Although the manufacturing schedule was delayed by three months, the vans are being built. Spartan, parent company of Utilimaster, is expecting to ship a total of 500 to 1,000 Reach vehicles in 2012 and anticipates production will nearly double in 2013.

As part of the original Reach launch plan, the assembly line will shift north from Indiana to the Spartan headquarters which will put the body assembly closer to the Isuzu diesel chassis operation.

Despite losing the new van, Utilimaster has a backlog of orders and is growing its payroll. To date, about 80 new production workers have been hired and the company is looking to add another 150 by the end of August. The manufacturer has a current workforce of 839.